Hola! We're safely back from Ecuador.
San the shaky flight back from Miami. First time I experienced a re-takeoff
from landing procedure. The wheels were "feet" from touching the tarmac,
when the plane reclimbed, to avoid running over the previous plane -- which
was still not finished with its landing. The pilot says this happens a lot
at DIA. Why?

Anyway. Here is the full report, I promised. I broke it down into parts,
for easier reading and handling. This CMC-HAMS sanctioned outing occurred
solely in Ecuador, and included climbs up the following volcanoes/mountains:

Guagua Pichincha 4794 m (15,725'), W. Cordillera, Pichincha Prov.

Sincholagua 4893 m (16,050'), E. Cordillera, Pichincha Prov.

Antisana 5758 m (18,887'), E. Cordillera, Pichincha Prov.

Chimborazo 6310 m (20,697'), W. Cordillera, Chimborazo Prov.

Other destinations included:

Banos ("Banyos"), Tungurahua Prov.

Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World), Pichincha Prov.

The following CMC Members participated on this trip:

Craig Patterson (leader), Denver

Sherry Durman, Denver

Andrew White ("me"), Denver

Kim Rust, Denver

Jerry Clayton, Denver

Wayne Herrick, Denver

Alan Knepper, Denver

Steven Janus, Member-at-large

Greg Long, Pikes Peak

Quito was our base of operation, while we purchased food and fuel, and rested
at the Hotel Ambassador (9 De Octubre + Colon, newtown Quito). This hotel
was pleasant and comfortable, but had a peculiar sense of architecture and
interior design. Toilets were not fully functional. Also, the hotel staff
says they have a lost-and-found. But, don't trust them. Greg L. saw one of
the teenage workers walking around wearing his missing NorthFace windpants.
He mentioned it to the receptionists and got them back.

Great and plentiful breakfasts' were at the Magic Bean, within short walking
distance. There are decent dinner places and numerous cyber cafes, nearby.
Food and meals were cheap. Filet Mignon was only $5.00. But, Ecuatoranos
need to work on the recipe. The papas fritas (French fries) were good. The
"Steakhouse" gave me diarrhea, maybe mild food poisoning. But, Imodium
cleared it up in 24 hours. When we needed to get food from the SuperMaxi, we
took the taxi for ~$2.00/ride. Gasoline was much, much cheaper than white
gas ($25.00/gal). But, it quickly clogged our multi-fuel stoves.

Traveler's Cheques were next to impossible to exchange Quito, at least on the
weekends. But credit cards work at the ATM's (Filanbanco for VISA, and Banco
De Pacifico for M.C.). To L.D. phone call back to stateside, we used
Andenatel (about four blocks down, on Colon). Calls were only $0.35/min.
The laundry lady, across from the hotel, did a great job with our clothes,
and again, inexpensive.

We used Moggley Motors to commute to the trailheads. But, Elloy and his Ford
van had difficulties getting us exactly where we wanted to be. So, we had to
add one or two miles to our hiking distance. However, Alvin and his luxury
charter bus were great for the longer commutes to Chimborazo, Banos, and
Mitad del Mundo. He even got up early to drive us back to the airport at
5:00AM, on Saturday.

And now, the Climbs:

Guagua Pichincha [Dec. 29].
This was just a day hike, and got us going on our conditioning for the
bigger, snow climbs later. After spending extra time looking for the route
to the trailhead, we found the steepening road to the observation house, and
began hiking around 10:00AM. The weather was partly cloudy and muggy.

By-the-way, the weather for the entire trip became quite predictable. Clear,
moonlit skies at night and into the morning until 9:00AM. Warm and wet
clouds then pulled in for the day, with winds picking up in the afternoon and
evening. The Sun turned on at 6:00AM, and off at 6:00PM. This made for some
long and boring sleeps in the tents and huts. The morning low temperatures
never got below 30 degrees F.

We reached the house by noon and stopped for a snack and water. Two guys in
a jeep were waiting for us at the house. This, according to the sign on the
outside wall, was to ensure we each paid our dollar for the use of the house
and trail. It is $2.00 if you want to spend the night, there. We could see
Quito and the big mountains to the East. A quarter mile traverse, south, up
a good trail got us up to the volcano's rim, where we could breathe in the
warm, smelly Sulfur Dioxide gasses bubbling up from the crater within. There
is a path into the crater. But, it is off limits. The last major eruption
was just back in October '99. The hotel has great pictures of it. Our hike
continued north for another half mile, along the rim, up class 2-3 rock and
gravel to the summit. While at the summit, we bathed and ate lunch in the
steamy clouds (~30 feet visibility).

Jerry C. had a Pulse/Oxymeter with him, which was secretly on loan to him
from his wife's hospital where she works. We all got our fingers read. Mine
was reading 72% Oxygen saturation and 120 beats/min. Everyone else's was
reading at least 78%. Jerry said that 70% or lower was dangerous and
required supplemental Oxygen. I was a bit nervous, but felt fine with no
headaches or nausea. Just short of breathe.

A clean, gravely path along the north side of the ridge, between Guagua and
Rucu Pichincha brought us back to the observation house and down the road to
the van, awaiting. Rain broke out just as we were leaving.

Sincholagua [Dec. 30 - Dec. 31].
This climb required one night of camping, and would be the first of eight
nights camping (five nights in tents + three in a hut). We all brought dry
or dehydrated dinners/breakfasts from home and simply used the stoves to boil
bottled or treated water. To get to the trailhead, we had to pass through
Cotopaxi National Park. This was, for most of us, our first glimpse at the
highly photogenic landmark. But, due to the afternoon cloud cover, it was
difficult to get a good, initial, lasting impression. As we rode around the
northern flanks of Coto, and out the NE border of the park, our good road
quickly began to disappear into grassy doubletrack. Since Elloy had not
driven much to our infrequently climb destination, we got lost, for about two
hours. The map was difficult to match to the flat grassy, rock strewn
landscape. We eventually identified a small, abandoned farm house, which
marked the correct route to the trailhead. From here, the doubletrack became
unmanageable for Elloy's van. So, we parked it and set up camp near good
irrigation water, 1000 feet lower and 2 miles away from our intended
campsite/trailhead.

That night, we got up for a 2:00AM hike to Sincholagua. The first 2 miles on
grassy doubletrack, and 3 miles on a good western ridgeline to the north side
of the mountain. On the way, we passed our intended campsite, where somebody
erected the words "Feliz Amigos" out of large stones. As we reached the
north side, morning daylight lit up the landscape and we finally got some
really good views of Cotopaxi, Ruminahui, Tunguragua (blowing smoke), Guagua
and Rucu, and Cayambe. Chimborazo was hidden behind Coto. The last mile was
Class 3-4 loose rock, above 15,000'. The warm morning air was quite
favorable for us. It was just like climbing Longs Peak in the summer. To
get to the summit, from the north, we had to reach the ridgeline between the
first and second rock buttresses from the north, skirt the east side of the
second buttress, and climb up more loose rock on the third "main" buttress,
to about 40 feet below the summit. From its north side, we hauled out our
ropes, helmets, and harnesses, and finished our accent up mostly solid Class
5.2 rock, using a running belay from on top. We all displayed our mastery of
technical R. C. as all nine of us reached the less than 20 square feet of
summit, at 16,050'. I got a little dizzy when I looked over the ~2000 foot
vertical drop on the south side. After a quick lunch, we rapped back down
and hiked back to camp under continuing favorable warm weather. Elloy waited
for us to break camp and usher us back to Quito.

Since it was New Year's Eve, we had the fortune opportunity of seeing the
locals prepare for night-long festivities, as we made our way back to the
hotel. This includes the igniting of fireworks, the street burning of
rubbish and haybag effigies of old men ("the old year"), and crossdressing
men begging for donations ("the widows of the old men").

Antisana 5,758 m (18,890').
The road to the trailhead, which goes east out of Quito and through the town
of Pintag, was a lot better than the roads on the previous two climbs. But,
our friend Elloy and his van still could not get us all the way in. We did
have a second vehicle (4x4 Landcruiser) to carry our gear and our leader in,
however. So, on Tuesday (New Year's Day), we had a pleasant walk across the
tundra to where the 4x4 decided to stop, about 1.5mi/1500' from our sought
after campsite, ate lunch, and packed full gear the rest of the way. As this
was all going on, I was trying to recover from a bad case of diarrhea from
the night before. I had a bad night's rest, did not eat breakfast or lunch,
and "bonked" (low glucose) upon reaching camp, after crawling my way up. The
site (15,500'), nestled in the rocks just below the glacier's base, had room
for our five tents, and then some. The water in the nearby runoff stream was
very silty. But, cleaner water could be found about a 1/2 mile up at the
edge of the glacier. The weather did not amount to more than drifting clouds
and a warm occasional breeze. The mountain, and its summit became visible in
the evening. I was very impressed, and somewhat nervous. The number and
apparent size of crevasses on its west face was more than I had ever seen
(ex. Compared to Mt Rainier's Emmons Glacier). But, I felt I could do it.

Our goal for this climb was to spend one full night sleeping at this
altitude, take it easy and "wand" out the first half of the route on the next
day, and climb the next evening, with an additional night and weather day if
needed. On Wednesday, Craig, Steven, Al, and Wayne set out to do the
wanding, while the rest of us went back to our stash of bottled water, back
at the trailhead. I was definitely feeling better, and eating food again.
Thanks, to Steven's Imodium(R). Everyone was psyched for this climb. But,
we could not help noticing the giant irregular "mushroom" cap at the summit,
and wondered how we were going to get around and on top of it.

Then, at 1:00 AM, we set off for the glacier on the South side and started
climbing. We still had good moonlight and were able to minimize our headlamp
use. A good thing -- my was starting to short out. The rope teams consisted
of Craig, Wayne, Sherry, Al, and Steven on the lead. And, Jerry, I, Kim, and
Greg following slowly behind. The 500'/hr pace was good and timely, and we
were all feeling strong. A couple of German climbers, who came up and camped
near us on Wednesday, tagged along and helped us look for the route on the
upper half of the mountain. The crevasses were not as bad as I thought
(appearing to be no more than 10' deep), and proved to be easy to step over.
There was, however, a lot of low angle ice. Had to work on keeping all
twenty crampon points down. My rope team (the "second" team) reached 18,000'
around 5:30 AM, when we finally caught up with the lead team. Craig had his
team taking a break, while he was investigating the big crevasse we all had
come upon. And it was big, and long. We could see the overhang of the
"mushroom" cap just beyond it. Craig decided to lead us around to the West,
while the two Germans went around to the East. NO LUCK! We could not find a
safe way around. The information we got from the local guides, about snow
bridges, was not coming through. And, the morning chill began to set in.
So, we turned around and went back to camp. We were all bummed. And, I was
feeling really good at 18,000'. Back at camp, we all went back to bed.

Later, Craig (feeling really miffed) decided he needed try it again and asked
for any willing participants to go along. Sherry, Al, and Wayne were also
feeling miffed and signed up. The rest of us decided to save our energies
for Chimborazo and sleep in for a boring 12 hours, the following night. We
kept in contact with them with our two-way radios.

Craig's new route would take the team up the North side this time, following
the tracks left by a guided American group who had been there earlier. The
rest of us packed up and headed back to the trailhead for one more "low camp"
night on the tundra. On our way out, we finally got a call from Craig (~8:00
AM), and spotted his location. The team was at 18,200', on a smaller
"mushroom", just to the North side of the main "mushroom". And once again,
he reached another dead end. This mountain was not going to be climbed.
That night, their tired bodies stayed at the high camp.

Back in Quito, we learned from some local climbing sources, that apparently,
no one has been able to summit Antisana this year. And, the Germans. They
multiple attempts did not get them there either. Yeah, I guess! Who knows
what happen to the other American group.

Chimborazo 6,310 m (20,700')

We made an early return to Quito on Saturday (1/5/02), after four nights and
days on Antisana. We were glad to get back to cleaner water and comfortable
beds (note to myself: Next time, bring the Thermarest pad and leave the 4 qt.
pot at home). And, a chance to finally get our clothes washed at the cheap,
but great drop-off laundromat, across from the hotel. We were, also, looking
forward to catching up on our email, long distance phone calls, and eating
fresh food. But, this would last only one day. We were off to 'Chimbo' on
Sunday, minus three crew members. After our letdown on Antisana, Kim R. and
Steven J. decided that they had their fill of climbing in Ecuador, and made
plans to return home. It would now be seven of us on the last BIG climb.
Kim and Steven would try to get
in a little sight-seeing before they left. But then, on Saturday night,
Jerry C. got a call from his employer. Things were going down with a big
contract of his, and he was needed stateside immediately. Boy, what a
bummer (2nd note to myself: Never give my boss the phone number for the
hotel)! So, now it would only be six of us: Craig, Sherry, Al, Wayne, Greg,
and me.

The ride from Quito to Ambato, to Chimborazo took about four hours. It was
fairly comfortable, in Alvin's cozy charter bus. I say 'fairly', because
Ecuador's roadways need a lot of work, especially between Ambato and
Chimborazo. Access to the main huts, on the South side, requires travel
through a national wildlife preserve and is currently under construction.
It is very sandy, and the route -- a bit confusing, especially in foggy
weather. If you go this way, remember to stop and pay the park ranger, for
your travel permit. Just look for two guys on a bicycle. The one in the
gray camouflage fatigues, wearing a Kevlar vest and a .45 cal. revolver is
the ranger.

We arrived at the lower hut by 2:00 PM, in thick fog, and hauled our gear up
to the dusty loft, inside. This was not easy! The effortless ride from
9,300' to 15,900' left me feeling very dizzy. The lower hut has nice bunks
and dining room, and a clean smelling kitchen (with running water). However,
I have seen better lavatories in remote Italy. While we only
intended to spend the first night in the lower hut, a tour of the upper
"Whymper" hut made us decide to stay in the more quiet, less smelly lower
hut for the entire climb. It would only add 500' feet and 1 hour to the
total duration of the climb. There are enough beds for eight people, plus
plenty of floor space. One other thing about the hut -- no lighting.
The first night was restless for me. But, I did get about 4 good hours of
sleep in the six hours we had the next night, before getting up for the
11:00 PM start on the mountain. I WAS feeling strong. The Diamox and
decongestant seemed to be working. Since Jerry left, we were not able to
check our pulse/ox. My saturation level had to be at least 80%, which is
good. But, my heart was still running 100-120 bpm. We ate breakfast and
started slowly up the trail to the Whymper hut. The air was warm and damp.
Beyond the Whymper hut, we continued slowly up frozen rock (which became
loose rock, later in the day). And, in 1 hour, we had already gain 1,000'.
At 12:30 AM, we reached the famed step ladder to the snow ramp ("El
Corridor"). Two 3" diameter poles with several 1x2's for rungs. It makes
the ladder at Mesa Verde look great. Up to this point, Greg was slowly
becoming less sure of himself for the climb. And, when we began up the
ladder onto the snow, he decided to stop and return to the hut. Like me, he
had not been getting good sleep. To bad! At the start of our "Four
Mountain Excursion", I thought he was our strongest member. So, now there
were only five of us. Shortly after getting on the snow, we put on our
climbing gear and roped up.

We could see another group quickly approaching from below. The first mile
or so, through "El Corridor" and upward to the ridge (Near the rock buttress
"El Castillo") was straightforward switchbacking along a preexisting path,
set by the climbers the day before. Moderate climbing angle, on snow. Once
on the ridge, condition became steep and icy. Not what I was expecting.
The guide book described it as a slow walk up from here. This ridge walk
was technical. We even had a few crevasses to contend with. But, they all
had good snow bridges. One required the use of ice tools to get up and over
the back wall. This was no more than 4' of high angle ice above 4' of
overhang. Wayne, the expert ice climber, did it with just his mountain axe.
The second group (a guided group) finally caught up with us on the ridge,
and passed us. In a rude way -- across our rope! I hate when they do that.
I made sure the rope was slack and on the ground. They were making the
fast, straight-to-the-summit ascent, and we let them. We crossed through
our last crevasse at ~19,000', at ~7:00 AM. At this point, I and Al (both
at the rear) stopped to look back down the ridge, as daylight illuminated
the landscape. Since the sun was on the other side of the mountain, we got
to see the giant, triangular shadow of "Chimbo" laid out across the low
altitude haze, to the West. Just like the one seen in photos of Everest.
At 19,500', I was really noticing the lack of air, and physical energy. I,
also, noticed the upcoming start of the ice seracs that we would need to
climb over to get to the summit. We took a break, and Craig asked us all on
how we were doing. I told him I wasn't sure. I had not been eating much
during the climb, except candy and a bite of a bagel. I was drinking,
though. Al gave me an orange "Goo" packet, which is okay after the initial,
hard swallow, and Wayne gave me a good pep talk. This climb, still, did not
seem as hard as my French guided climb up Mont Blanc (Aug. '94). But, it was
getting close. Craig said we did not have much further to go, and we would
HAVE to take it slow through the seracs. We all continued on.

The seracs were steep and ice. I was constantly having to rely on my knees
to mantle up on the big ice steps (bad habit!). Someone on our rope, ahead
of me (guess that leaves Al out) was making awkward "side" steps. Hard for
a "French stepper" like me to deal with. I really could have used an ice
tool on this stuff. Mountain axes do not dig in well. Eventually the
climbing angle was get shallower, and the sunlight was getting brighter. I
guess we were getting near the summit. But, we were still stepping up and
over the 4-6' seracs. Al compared it to trying to traversing an office
full of cubicles -- the hard way -- straight over! And then, we were on
top -- I think. We could not climb any higher. We could not see the
horizon or surrounding landscape, either. I had to get on top of a serac
to see. Yep -- we were on the summit! The "Veintimilla Summit" (6,260 m =
20,500').

This was good enough for me. I could see the true "Whymper Summit" at about
1/2 mile east. It looked bad! A lot more ice seracs, and an additional 500'
of upward climbing. I told Craig that this was it for me. And, then I sat
down to try to catch my breathe. We all were. 1,800' feet higher than I had
been before. Not bad! Warm and sunny. No headache or nausea. But, for the
others, this was not good enough. They had to go on. They had to make it
up, for not reaching the summit of Antisana, on their TWO (2) attempts.
Wayne estimated two hours, out and back. I was willing to wait that long.
So, I took myself off the line, anchored myself into a serac, waved good-bye,
and ate my lunch. But, it was not more than 10 minutes later, that Craig and
Sherry reappeared. Without Wayne and Al. The terrain ahead was too
technical for them. So, they decided to turn around and head back. Wayne
and Al kept going on. Craig had to split the rope (his rope, not HAMS'). We
had radio contact with them, which was good.

As the three of us made our way down the mountain, the clouds came in, and we
were in thick fog. But, the weather was getting warmer and wetter. We were
shedding or clothes. Right down to our base layers. I thought it was
supposed to be cold at altitude! We down-climbed more cautiously than we
up-climbed. Belayed on several icy sections. The 11:00 AM snow at "El
Corridor" was beginning to stick to our crampons. But, soon we reached the
ladder and was off the slush. Now, we were on loose, wet rock. And, still
in the steamy clouds. We tried three times too contact Wayne and Al, but
didn't get a response. We WERE a little worried. We did get through to
Greg, back at the hut. He hadn't heard from them, either. Craig, Sherry,
and I got back to the hut at 1:00 PM, and sacked out in our sleeping bags.
At 2:00 PM, Greg finally contacted Wayne and Al. They HAD reached the
Whymper summit and made it safely off the mountain. At 3:00 PM, they were
back at the hut and we all went back to sleep.